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Mufasa/Main article
Mufasa was the king of the Pridelands at the start of The Lion King. He was the father of Simba, and the older brother of Scar. Physical Attributes Mufasa is the largest lion in the Pride and has distinctive golden fur shared only by Ahadi and, after Ahadi's death or resignal, Simba. He was given large shoulders and a pronounced jaw to make him seem king-like and the most powerful lion, according to his animators. His mane is thick and Reddish brown (though his synopsis and various books insist that it's as golden as his voice), and his eyes are dark red. Mufasa has brown nose, tan whiskers and is a true leader amongst the pride. Personality Mufasa is a wise, noble, and very powerful king. Although he carries himself with the grace and nobility expected of a king, he is shown to have a healthy sense of humor, as he is able to chuckle when Zazu suggests turning Scar into a throw rug after the latter blatantly insults Mufasa and his son, Simba. And when Simba pounced on Zazu during the "The Morning Report", Mufasa bursts out laughing, and continues to laugh until the end of Simba's singing line. Mufasa is shown to have a temper (as commented by Zazu on it in "How True, Zazu?"), and is fiercely protective of his pride, especially Simba, as is shown in both his fury when he saves his son and Nala from the hyenas and in his willingness to die so that his son might survive the wildebeest stampede orchestrated by Scar. He appears not to have noticed the depth of Scar's treachery until the latter murders him in cold blood, though this may simply be because he is unwilling to see such darkness within one of his own family members. Mufasa also had a special unbreakable bond with Simba as Mufasa presumingly taught Simba everything he knows, and the two sometimes even play wrestle together, as shown in the movie. Backstory A Tale of Two Brothers Mufasa appears in the stories Friends in Need and A Tale of Two Brothers as a young adult and depicted very differently in both. In a tale of Two brothers he is a responsible and understanding individual who is ready to take on the duties of his father or mother as the Royal ruler of Pride Rock. Ahadi breaks his promise to take the two hunting when chaos emerges at the waterhole. Mufasa is understanding but Taka is not, and plots to get back at them both. He suggests they go hunting together while Ahadi takes care of the waterhole problem. Mufasa agrees, unknowingly walking into a trap set up by Taka himself. A younger Rafiki spends the night at Pride Rock and Mufasa tells him Taka doesn't like them much, Ahadi or Mufasa. Later, Mufasa walks into Taka's trap, running for his life away from a water-hogging buffalo named Boma. Mufasa gets away but Taka is so luck and gets Scarred. Friends in Need Mufasa is constantly annoyed by Zazu the majority of the book, but when the Hornbill saves his life twice, one from fire ants and again from a water snake(as well as Sarabi), he comes to like his Majordomo a lot more. The Lion King Mufasa is first seen during the Circle of Life sequence, where all the animals come to the presentation of Simba. He stands regally atop Pride Rock as it's king and regards Zazu's respect with a warm smile. Rafiki appears and the two embrace before going to check with Sarabi. He nuzzles her as they view their son, watching the mandrill annoint the cub and trust Rafiki with their child. The two smile at each other as Simba is presented. Later Mufasa demands Scar drop Zazu, after the former tries to eat the latter and confronts his brother about being absent to his sons presentation. Scar is disrespectful, something the King responds in hostility to. When he dominates Scar, Mufasa ponders what to do with the younger lion at which Zazu suggest turning him into a throw rug. The King laughs and they take their leave. ]]Once Simba gets a few weeks old, he rouses his father and Mufasa takes his son to Pride Rock's summit to show him the kingdom;Everything the light touches. He tells Simba everything the light touches belongs to them and when he is king all of it will be passed on to him. Simba asks about the Shadowy Place and Mufasa warns him not to go there. Simba replies he though a king could do whatever he wants and Mufasa explains there's more to being king than having your way all the time. He goes on to explain the circle of life to his cub, that the antelope may be food for them but when they die they become the grass, which the antelope eat. Zazu appears and explains gives Mufasa The Morning Report. Mufasa notices Simba's attempts at pouncing and uses the majordomo as target practice for his son. He laughs when Simba succeeds but reports from the underground, via a mole, that hyenas have tresspassed in the lands turns his carefree demeanor serious and he leaps over Simba to fix the problem. He orders Zazu to take Simba home and refuses Simba's request to go with him. When Simba and Nala go into the elephant graveyard and encounter three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, he saves them in the knick of time and gives his son a lesson about bravery after order Zazu to take Nala home. He tells his cub being brave doesn't mean looking for trouble, plays with his son and tells him about The Great Kings of the Past when Simba asks if they'll always be together. Mufasa is last seen alive during the stampede, intentionally caused by the Hyenas who were working for Scar. He notes the herd being on the move was odd, and rushes to save Simba when Scar reports him being down there. Mufasa jumps into the mess of hooves without hesitation after Zazu locates the cub clinging to a weak branch. He catches Simba in mid air when the branch is broken by a Wildebeest, taking a hit in the process. Simba is flung into the stampede along when Mufasa is tagged by yet another Wildebeest but he quickly grabs his son and moves him to safety. A Wildebeest drags him back into the chaos but with a powerful leap Mufasa clings to and scales the ways of the gorge only to meet Scar at it's top and to be thrown back, and to his death, in the Stampede. When Simba is an adult, Rafiki tells him Mufasa is still alive. Eager to see his father again, Simba follows the mandrill and is dissapointed to see only his reflection, but when instructed to look harder, he stares into the very eyes of his father. Mufasa's voice hovers above him, and he curiously looks up to meet his father's ghost. The Ghost accuses Simba of forgetting him, something Simba vehemently refuses, but the ghost counters Simba has forgotten who he is and in turn has forgotten his father. He demands Simba go back, to which Simba asks "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." Mufasa recedes into the clouds with a series of "Remeber''s." The last time Mufasa is heard, Simba has defeated Scar and is taking his place as the rightful king. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Mufasa only makes two visual appearances in ''Simba's Pride. Once, his spirit is seen watching over Kiara's presentation with the song, "He Lives in You", attributing to him. Second, Mufasa is seen in Simba's nightmare which is a re-imagining of his own death scene. Mufasa is crying for his son's help so he won't fall into the wildebeest stampede below. However, Simba is stopped by Scar who pierces his paw with his claws while his other paw is unable to reach his father's paw. Unable to hang on any later, Mufasa falls. In the film, he tells his old friend Rafiki through the wind about his plan to make Kiara and Kovu fall in love with each other. He is also mentioned during the exile of Kovu, where Kiara yells at Simba "You will never be Mufasa!", possibly referring to the fact, in Kiara's eyes, Mufasa may have forgiven Kovu and seen the ambush was not his fault. Simba is taken aback and, most likely, hurt by the statement for a moment, suggesting he had been trying to live up to the "greatness" Mufasa had achieved in his time as ruler of the Pridelands. At the end of Simba's Pride, he says, "Well done, my son. We are one." toward Simba praising his son's wisdom and leadership as king. The Lion King 1½ s to save Simba and Nala (with Pumbaa running away in the background)]]In The Lion King 1½, Mufasa makes a few non-speaking appearances to which he is present in the original film. First, he is seen during Simba's presentation and grins when Zazu tells him how the animals are kneeling before his newborn son. Second, his roar frightens Timon and Pumbaa while he is racing with Zazu to save Simba and Nala from the hyenas. Finally, he forms as a spirit from clouds to which Timon mistakens as bad weather. Other Roles The Lion King (musical) In the musical productions, Mufasa's role is much larger in the musical than in the first film. Mufasa is given new songs to sing such as "The Morning Report" and "They Live in You" to which he tells young Simba about the Great Kings of the Past who are watching over them from the stars. There is also an scene in which Mufasa tells Zazu about Simba's daring behavior. Zazu then reminds him on his early years as a young cub. In Mufasa's Death he lied down on stage and Simba cried for help. In the song "He Lives in You", Mufasa apeared as a ghost and tells Simba to go back to the Pridelands. Finally, Mufasa says "REMEMBER!" before Simba roars as the new king of his kingdom. Samuel E. Wright portrayed Mufasa in the Original Broadway Cast, while Correll John portrayed him in the London West End Cast. Kingdom Hearts II Mufasa can be seen in The Pridelands world in the Kingdom Hearts game. By the time Sora and co. get there, Mufasa has long been dead as Simba is already an adult. Much like in the original film and in the musical, Mufasa tells Simba to return to the Pridelands and become the rightful king. James Earl Jones does not provide any new dialouge for Mufasa, but instead archives of Jones's pre-recorded lines from the movie were used. Concept Art Much like his brother Scar's concept, Mufasa was supposed to have a bi-colored mane. His design didn't change so drastically, However, in many of the pictures, his red mane also feautures some white or cream, but most of his conceptual art retains his reddish mane and gold fur as well as his thick mane and frame. Family Tree Trivia *In an early script, Mufasa had a bat-eared-fox named Bhati to look after Nala and Simba. *Mufasa was scripted to sing a song titled "To Be King" during the film's early production, but it didn't suit James Earl Jones's singing voice. *''The Lion King'' directors Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers stated Mufasa or Scar could be Nala's father at a Lion King Tenth Anniversary discussion panel. Despite this "canon" claim, Nala and Simba would be related and neither Scar nor Mufasa acknowledge Nala as their daughter in the film. *Mufasa's name originates from the name of the last king of the Bagada people, and means "King" in the Manazoto language. Songs *The Morning Report (musical) *They Live in You (musical) *Circle of Life (musical) Gallery Mufasa_and_Sarabi.jpg|Mufasa and Sarabi 600full-the-lion-king-screenshot.jpg|Angry Mufasa towards his brother, Scar lk_screengrab_117.jpg|Mufasa and Young Simba Mufasalaugh.jpg|Mufasa laughing after Simba pounces on Zazu Mufasa's Roar.PNG|Mufasa roaring at the hyenas MufasaInTrouble.jpg|Mufasa struggling to survive mufasa1.jpg|Mufasa realizing, too late, Scar's plot : Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Pridelanders Category:Male Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Protagonists